Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho

If you are not familiar with Gazpacho, it is a delightful and light cold soup with a tomato base, loaded with fresh vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, bell pepper, and onions — a perfect dish to serve during the warm, summer months. I first made this recipe in my first quarter of culinary school, and I just had to make it again, it’s that good. It makes a wonderful appetizer with its light texture and refreshing flavor, leaving the palate hungry for the next course. This is a great vegetarian dish as it does not require any meat stock.

Toss the onion and zucchini with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place on a sheet pan (or in a ovenproof pan) with the green bell pepper and roast until the onion and zucchini are tender. Combine the roasted onion and zucchini, and the bell pepper in a food processor and pulse to a coarse purée. Do not overprocess, as the vegetables will become too thin and lose their natural juices and flavor. Remove from the blender and put into a large bowl.

Mix the tomatoes, cucumber, and garlic with the processed vegetables. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, vinegar, 1 cup of tomato juice, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the tomato mixture. The consistency should be slightly liquidy, so you may need to add additional tomato juice.

Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, then adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add extra vinegar or olive oil, if necessary.

Serve in a well-chilled cup or bowl, garnished with croutons (if desired).

Tip: To chill the cups or bowls, place them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

One response to “Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho”

Adding fresh squeezed Lemon juice to your Gazaspacho will make the flavor explode, promis.
Large Lemon wedges can be added on the side and squeezed in to liking also but best added in initially so the flavor soaks evenly.
Rick